Best medication for anxiety, ocd.

[isthisasgdasitgets]

Hi all, I'm having a blip after a really good period of mental health. Gp has suggested changing meds. I've been taking 40mg paroxetine for years. Should I stick with this or try another medication. What are people's experiences of changing meds? And can you recommend one for anxiety and ocd. Of course it's making me more anxious & I'm stuck and getting down and don't want to spiral deeper. Thanks for reading and hope someone replies

[panic_down_under]

Hi all, I'm having a blip after a really good period of mental health.

Did something happen which might have triggered the blip and how long has it been going on?

Gp has suggested changing meds. I've been taking 40mg paroxetine for years. Should I stick with this or try another medication.

You could try going up to the recommended maximum 60mg/day, but the odds of this working are likely to be no better than 50/50.

What are people's experiences of changing meds?

Switching overnight from one SSRI to the equivalent dose of another, except to/from fluoxetine (Prozac), is usually straightforward. Any side-effects are usually mild and short lived.

And can you recommend one for anxiety and ocd.

As a rule no antidepressant (AD) is intrinsically better/more effective than the others either generally, or for a particular disorder though one or two usually are for an individual. As with most such rules there are exceptions and in this case two ADs, the SSRI fluvoxamine (Luvox) and the TCA clomipramine (Anafranil) seem to have an edge for OCD. Personally, I'd opt for clomipramine, but your GP is likely to be more comfortable prescribing fluvoxamine as these days most GPs have little experience with TCAs and switching from a SSRI to TCA is a little more complicated than between SSRIs.

[isthisasgdasitgets]

Hi panicdown under. Thanks so much for taking the time to reply.
I'm not entirely sure what triggered my blip, it's like a switch flicked in my brain and I'm back to square one! I was also over sensitive to something at work, which sent me into panic mode.
Now my brain is questioning everything, overthinking and all the other wonderful anxiety, ocd symptoms.
I wish I could just run away and hide!
Thanks for your advice. My gp never got back to me and I don't have the energy to try again. So think I will carry on as I am for the moment. Till I really can't cope 🤯
Thanks again.

[panic_down_under]

My gp never got back to me and I don't have the energy to try again. So think I will carry on as I am for the moment. Till I really can't cope

I don't this is a good idea as it may take some weeks for the new AD to work and being at rock bottom plus maybe coping with side-effects may prove overwhelming.

[isthisasgdasitgets]

Thanks I appreciate your reply.

[panic_down_under]

Are you now on an effective treatment?

[isthisasgdasitgets]

Are you now on an effective treatment?

No sorry, just struggling to get by.

[Scissel]

That is ok ... its okay to not be OK ... sometimes we just struggle and 'fake it till we make it'! I hope things improve for you soon and regarding your medication.

[panic_down_under]

No sorry, just struggling to get by.

Is therapy an option if you don't want to go onto a med? I assume there would be a longish waiting list, but the sooner you're on it the sooner you'll rise to its top.

[isthisasgdasitgets]

That is ok ... its okay to not be OK ... sometimes we just struggle and 'fake it till we make it'! I hope things improve for you soon and regarding your medication.

Thank you for your kind words. I just feel such a failure at the moment and the faking is getting harder. I hope you're doing well.